As for calling the picture slanderous, there is nothing that erks me more as a writer than observing improper use of words. By legal definition, Slander is the ORAL communication of false statements that are harmful to a person’s reputation.

Slander is a subcategory of defamation. Defamation is the act of harming the reputation of another by making a false statement to a third person. There are two types of defamatory acts: Libel is a defamatory statement expressed in a fixed medium, e.g. writing, art, picture or sign. Slander, on the other hand, is a defamatory statement expressed in a transitory form, e.g. speech.

Now that I have gotten that out of my system, I want to comment that the first Amendment gives us “freedom loving, patriotic Americans” the right to freedom of speech and freedom of expression. In my opinion, the artwork on this blog post is not an act of defamation. In order to have a case for defamation, the act in question must be be done with MALICE.

This post and the picture are far from being malicious.

Try not to confuse defamation with insult.

And as for the picture, it is simply used to illustrate the two points: guns and Starbucks.